The worldwide demand for sustainable cosmetics is rising, with the pure and natural magnificence market projected to achieve $54.5 billion by 2027, rising at a CAGR of 9.76% from 2022 to 2027, in response to market analysis agency Statista. On the similar time, sustainability certifications are gaining traction—practically 50% of magnificence shoppers now search for third-party verified claims like natural, vegan, or climate-neutral earlier than making a purchase order, as reported by The NPD Group.
In opposition to this backdrop, the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit – North America Version returns to New York Metropolis on June 5-6, 2025, bringing collectively producers, suppliers, and trade leaders to discover inexperienced supplies, sustainability schemes, and rising developments like AI and biotechnology.
Organized by Ecovia Intelligence, the occasion will study how these improvements are shaping the way forward for cosmetics whereas tackling key challenges similar to ingredient sourcing, round packaging, and greenwashing.
To realize deeper insights, CosmeticsDesign spoke with Amarjit Sahota, founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, about what to anticipate from this 12 months’s summit and the way the trade can speed up its shift towards sustainability.
CDU: What impressed this 12 months’s theme and focus for the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit?
Amarjit Sahota (AS): This 12 months, we’re specializing in inexperienced supplies, sustainability schemes, and future developments. Inexperienced elements proceed to play an necessary function in advancing sustainability within the cosmetics trade.
We’ll take a look at how new applied sciences like biotechnology and AI are creating sustainable elements.
We determined to cowl sustainability schemes since our analysis reveals a rising variety of third-party sustainability requirements and labels for beauty & private care merchandise. Aside from pure and natural (essentially the most established), we’re seeing extra merchandise with climate-neutral, vegan, and associated labels like EWG Verified and Made Secure.
Within the Future Developments session, we are going to focus on the developments which can be poised to additional sustainability within the cosmetics trade. Aside from AI (which is predicted to have a serious influence on beauty formulations and advertising and marketing), we’re masking cultured elements (made utilizing mobile agriculture), and new strategies to provide plant-based elements: regenerative agriculture and vertical farming.
We’re additionally masking new packaging supplies for cosmetics & private care merchandise.
CDU: How has the summit developed over time in addressing sustainability challenges within the cosmetics trade?
AS: The agenda of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit has developed significantly for the reason that first version in 2009. Within the first few editions, inexperienced supplies referred to plant-based/pure uncooked supplies versus artificial chemical substances.
Over the past 10 years, there was appreciable funding in inexperienced uncooked supplies. Now, inexperienced supplies consult with elements which have a better sustainability profile than standard elements.
This may very well be by way of feedstock (agricultural-based or bio-based feedstock), synthesis (processing strategies), upcycling (valorization of waste supplies), and/or new applied sciences like stem cell know-how, precision fermentation, and many others.
There are additionally larger discussions on impacts, whether or not it’s carbon footprint / internet zero, useful resource use, moral sourcing & biodiversity, social sustainability, in addition to packaging impacts. Advertising points are additionally extra outstanding, particularly since manufacturers are advertising and marketing their merchandise on numerous inexperienced options, e.g., lively elements, free-from claims, labels, packaging, refillable, and many others.
CDU: The agenda mentions AI and biotechnology as rising applied sciences. How do you see these shaping the way forward for sustainable cosmetics?
AS: AI is having a serious affect on the cosmetics trade. Manufacturers are AI to assist them choose elements and re-formulate their merchandise.
AI can be used for market analysis for NPD (growing new merchandise), advertising and marketing, and communications. Corporations like Haut.AI are growing software program like SkinGPT, while analysis companies are utilizing AI to research knowledge and information manufacturers with advertising and marketing selections.
Biotechnology is predicted to play an necessary function in growing pure uncooked supplies for beauty formulations. The transfer to inexperienced uncooked supplies has raised questions on land use: As the worldwide inhabitants continues to rise and is predicted to achieve 9 billion by 2037, there are considerations that land will probably be used to develop crops for cosmetics and never for meals.
The rising use of plant-based uncooked supplies mustn’t result in meals insecurity. Biotechnology, similar to plant cell know-how, allows lively elements to be grown in refineries with agricultural land. Precision fermentation and fermentation strategies allow elements like collagen to be created from plant sources within the lab.
New applied sciences, due to this fact, will play an necessary function in creating sustainable elements for the cosmetics trade.
CDU: How do you assume this 12 months’s summit will affect trade stakeholders’ methods for integrating sustainability?
AS: We wish to spotlight the foremost developments and alternatives with inexperienced supplies and sustainability schemes for stakeholders. Inexperienced supplies play an necessary function in decreasing the environmental influence of beauty & private care merchandise.
Sustainability schemes are necessary as they assist manufacturers and ingredient corporations transfer in the direction of inexperienced(er) merchandise. They’re additionally essential in advertising and marketing; by adopting third-party sustainability schemes like Natrue, RSPO, and Local weather Neautral, manufacturers can legitimize their inexperienced advertising and marketing claims.
CDU: What function does collaboration play in overcoming challenges like greenwashing and implementing round techniques?
AS: Collaboration does play an necessary function. Within the earlier editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, we have now highlighted the significance of collaboration by giving a platform to the EcoBeautyScore Consortium and Pact Collective.
Each initiatives have concerned manufacturers working collectively for a typical aim e.g. the intention of the Pact Collective to handle the problem of magnificence and wellness packaging waste by uniting manufacturers to take collective duty for packaging waste via revolutionary assortment applications and academic sources.
CDU: What are your ideas on the potential for holistic sustainability schemes to handle the rising fragmentation within the trade?
AS: Sadly, we have now not seen any schemes that cowl the assorted components of sustainability within the magnificence trade. One of many causes is that sustainability has many threads, encompassing environmental points like carbon footprint, water use, power, waste administration, biodiversity, packaging impacts, to social points like moral sourcing and CSR.
There are additionally financial points and moral points that cowl animal-testing, veganism, and human well being. It’s, due to this fact, turning into widespread for sustainability schemes that target particular points, e.g., RSPO for sustainable sourcing of palm oil, carbon footprint labels, natural certification, vegan labels, truthful commerce, and many others.
CDU: Wanting forward, what new sustainability developments do you anticipate will emerge within the subsequent few years?
AS: We see there to be extra sustainability requirements and labeling schemes, in addition to charters and roundtables. A pattern is that these schemes are being developed for single elements, e.g., sustainable palm oil, sugar, coconut oil, mica, guar, and many others.
There may even be extra of a rising palette of inexperienced elements. Already, we’re seeing firms which have silicones and polymers shifting to bio-based feedstock.
On the client degree, count on to see new product codecs. In recent times, refillables have made a comeback for skincare merchandise. There are new product codecs like waterless shampoos and moisturizer bars, in addition to new refillable deodorants, and many others.
CDU: Because the founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, what drives your ardour for sustainability in cosmetics, and the way do you see your function in shaping the trade’s future?
AS: Since Ecovia Intelligence was fashioned in 2001, the mission has been to encourage sustainable growth within the meals, beauty & associated industries through our enterprise companies.
We’ve been internet hosting the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit since 2009; for 17 years, the summit goals to encourage constructive change within the magnificence trade by highlighting sustainability developments and figuring out enterprise alternatives and networks. Because the founding father of Ecovia Intelligence, my function is to assist facilitate this constructive change.
For extra particulars or to register for the upcoming Summit, please go to the group’s web site.
